If you think back only about 10 years ago, Microsoft Windows Update was a part of Internet Explorer and you had to run it over and over, reboot in between, and patiently wait for each patch to download and install until the asset was up-to-date.

In addition, if any patches failed, diagnosing the issue was difficult and could prevent additional dependent updates from being applied as well. For an operating system like Windows XP or Windows 7, this could be literally hundreds of patches, so organizations embraced service packs and cumulative updates to shorten this process and ensure every required patch was applied. A single update verses potentially dozens allowed for a time savings and an easier patch cycle. Hence, spinning off of the old cliché, “a patch in time saved nine.”